BTW -- the Hawaii fans we ran into were a class bunch. The horror stories of the Miami Hurricane style NFLish fans didn't really show up. We asked some folks about that, and they said, "The fans you see walking around NOLA aren't necessarily the folks you see on TV at the games. Those folks can't afford this trip." The Hawaii fans represented their school well in the Big Easy. They proudly sported their colors, and they were generally pretty cool. Although, I did have to laugh at all the "UNDEFEATED" Shirts we saw all week. I mean really...wasn't that jumping the gun just a little?

As for UGA Fans, we BROUGHT THE CROWD. I felt like we had a MUCH larger crowd this time than the 2002 Sugar Bowl despite playing a much less "sexy" opponent. More on all that later. We have a lot to be proud of.

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Extremely enjoyable game (FOX broadcasters not withstanding). I couldn't help but think how much it reminded me of the BSU game from 2005 as it looked like a Varsity vs. JV game. When you go back and watch - notice how every time we hit someone from their team it HURT them. One play I'm thinking of is the short pass to that huge Samoan FB and when we got up after catching it - he was in pain. All game, all the time.

It was an awesome effort from a team that could've gone into the game grousing about being left out of the BCS championship or underestimating their opponent. Instead, they turned the intensity up to 11 from the very first snap of the game and kept it there.

Big ups, as you said, to Willie Martinez. He's taken plenty of hits since taking over for VanGorder, but he is gonna get PAID for that effort.

Go Dawgs, and thanks for one of the funnest seasons I've ever experienced as a Dawg fan.

Doug,Good call on Martinez. Before our game, I was thinking that Michigan was the best prepared team I had seen as they came out with a great plan to beat the gators. But Martinez was calling down thunder and lightening and the players were executing like mad. I am still amazed that we were able to get such great pressure with a 3-man front which allowed us to drop 8.

Part of me was feeling a little bad for Colt because no one had taken a beating like that since... well... Tyler Donovan, but that is another story.However, I am reminded that he said things like, "Nobody stops us but ourselves." And when Tebow talked to him in NYC, he said that UGA would be coming after him and how Tebow had to know where the LBs and DL was lined up, Brennan smugly replied something like, "Linebackers? Dude, I am looking at the safeties and DBs to find the coverage not what the pass rush is", he made it seem like Tebow was talking about some archaic type of football that was beneath him. Welcome to the SEC where the front 7 play tackle, not flag football.

Yeah the announcers sucked ass. Had to hear way too much about Hawaii and how "they didn't give up". Please they were terrible and did not deserve to be there. They should have played Alabama in the Weedeater Bowl.

The defense really teed off on them and I loved it. I like how Knowshon threw his hands up after the second TD like "you have to be kidding me". Haha. Go DAWGS.

I actually felt kinda bad for Brennan after a while -- to quote one of the chicks in that Dave Chappelle "Mad Real World" sketch, "I felt sorry for that white boy. He didn't know what he was getting into."

One guy I didn't feel sorry for, though, was Hawaii's #29, that mouthy special-teamer who tried to turn Mikey Henderson into a vegetable on the very first punt of the game. He wins the Reggie Ball Award for Most S#!t-Talking To Littlest Tangible Effect -- all that yapping and all it got him was two penalties for 25 yards, 0 credited tackles, and a 31-point axe-murdering on national TV. Nice job, assface.

I love how the announcer on that play talks about how Mimbs is open for being hit since he is on the field. Even though he is 40 yards from the play...since Hawaii's longest punt return was 4-5 yards. But they complain when UGA "runs up the score" using its 2nd string and refuses to take the 1st defence off the field so Hawii can score a few garbage points to stop the bleeding.

I think another good play was the first FG by Coutu. The announcer is talkin all this crap about how Coutu is coming off a pulled hammy and how he doesnt think he can make it. Then Coutu drills it right down the middle and put enough on it to prob. have hit that shot from 60.

I am hoping that LSU will win, since a LSU win should set up UGA to be 2 in the preseason polls. I want them to be one, but we all know USC has that position locked up for years to come.

The announcers were OH SO HORRIBLE. Early in the game they referred to Moreno as "Nomar Moreno". Not to mention scalding CMR for having the audacity to throw the challenge flag on the faux completed pass by Colt C-Block Brennan. Just a miserable experience to listen to them. USC is rumored to have several early departures but they will still be near the top alongside Okla and GA. Fla will be up high as well. Lord our schedule is tough next year. It is way early but does anyone think Moreno may bolt after next year to the draft ?

1) If the NCAA really cares about the fans, it will not allow Fox to televise any more games. The announcers are terrible. I know that when the game is a blowout it makes it hard on the announcers, but Davis and Brenneman were horrible.2) Along this lines, Fox must have set a record for commercials. I think the game lasted 4.5 hours. Now I expected a bit of a long game with all the Hawaii passing, but come on the commercial breaks were numerous and long.3) I thought Mimbs hitting the guy in the back was a cheap shot. The hit on Mimbs was a clean play. Hitting someone on the back is like that is a cheap shot. If the roles had been reversed people here would be screaming cheap shot.4) It does not show class to make fun of a player who got hurt on a play--I am referring to the large fullback who was tackled low (legitimate hit) and limped off. Again, think about the roles being reversed. I doubt the Hawaii fans are celebrating knocking Mickey Henderson out of the game. (That was a penalty but I doubt the player was "going after him".)5) Boise State last year was far better than Hawaii this year. Boise could run the ball. For all the trick plays and such people forget that Boise really played some hard nose football in 2007.

Great win although the offense stuttered a lot more than I thought it would in the last half.

The hit on Mikey was a blatently planned hit. Not one coach or player scolded that THUG, piece of shit #29. It was there attempt to let us know they were ready to play.

No cheap shot can hide the fact that Hawai'i was about as good as a quality southern high school team.

I LAUGHED everytime one of their players went down (which was nearly every other play), especially that felon reciever who got SMASHED. June Jones is a piece of Garbage and so is that entire team of criminals.

The hit on Mimbs didn't miss cheap by much if it missed at all. I figure the 260 pound Sr. linebacker figures he will take it out on the 200 pound Jr. punter and got a mouth full of turf out of the deal. Suited the hell out of me.

It was clear to all who watched that Hawaii was not up to the task. Had they been half as good as they thought they were maybe they could have kept it within 21 points.

Do ya see where there is already talk about a split national champion?

It just kills these guys when they can't just give it outright to Ohio State or Southern Cal.

Was Mimbs hit cheap? Yes, and if they would have flagged him for it, then it would have been the right call.The hit on Mimbs was probably legal, but uncalled for.To say that punk 29's hit was blatantly planned is ridiculous. Did you hear them on the sidelines planning it? Was he intentionally leading with his helmet? Of course. It was a dirty move and he was flagged for it.I agree with skidawg in that it isn't cool to laugh at or cheering players being hurt. Yes, I want to see us bring the wood and hit players hard and tackle well, but I don't care to see kids' knees get ruined or see them get carried off the field in a neck brace either.

When the UGA fans started chanting "OVER-RATED," the announcers began wetting their pants and saying, "That's really unnecessary."

Apparently, we were hurting Hawaii's feelings.

Well, that's what happens when you claim you are worthy and fail miserably at backing it up.

I'm not stating that the chanting was a classy move. It just seemed to me that the announcers were pissed that their darling rainbow coalition warriors were supposed to be lions and were exposed as kittens.

Also, I like how they scheduled the Rose Bowl so that you couldn't flip to any other games. We were FORCED to watch that boring game. At 1 p.m. there were three games going on. At 5 p.m., there was one. What kind of scheduling is this?!!?

So which is it, skidawg? You write here: "The WAC is no worse this year than it was last year when its champion beat a pretty darn good Oklahoma team." but now you're writing "Boise State last year was far better than Hawaii this year." Given that Hawaii is the champion of the WAC this year, how is the WAC just as good while Hawaii this year is far worse than Boise last year?

Words like "class" and "integrity" are words losers use to try and get winners to concede to disadvantages they otherwise would not take. I'm glad to see Georgia becoming a bit more of a bad guy in the national spotlight. To borrow a bit from Swingers, I don't want UGA to be the PG-13 team that everyone really hopes will make it happen. I want UGA to be the rated R team that the rest of the world isn't sure they like yet.

Yeah, Georgia laid down a cheap shot or two. So did Hawaii. Georgia was smart enough to not do it right in front of the ref. And yeah Georgia went for a 4th down pass after being up eleventy million to nothing. Don't like it? Don't be down eleventy million to nothing. If Richt can continue to be successful in instilling a mid-90's Florida State attitude into this UGA team without the shoe stealing and academic fraud, it'll help UGA win those big games when they're not busy getting screwed out of them.

Wow...1) I do think the WAC is no worse than it was last year, but that does not mean that 2006 Boise State is not light years better than 2007 Hawaii. I think the play on the field shows that. Honestly, I thought Hawaii would make more of a game of it. Shit happens. Heck, I also thought UGA would beat Tennessee or at least give them a game. I guess that is why they play them, huh.

I also noted (either here or on another blog) that after a few WAC performances in the bowl games that I was feeling better about Georgia against Hawaii. (I grew up with Coach Dooley so I think I still carry that "every team can beat you" attitude no matter who it is).2) From what I can tell I like Richt and what he has done on and off the field although I was getting the feeling there for a while that UGA was taking on too much of an FSU persona with all the arrests. Once it starts going bad it is really hard to stop it. I recall not long ago UGA basketball being scandal ridden much worse than what just happened at FSU. Forgive me for wanting my degree to mean something to me and not being willing to exchange the credibility for football wins. I guess I am just getting old and think that a program can win, graduate players and not having more making the police blotter than the all conference team. It seems that teams that carry too much swagger eventually fall into a place where rules are broken. Sheesh even when I was UGA in the early 80s so many athletes had the attitude that they owned the place that it was a bit disturbing and that was before college football exploded.

3) Dante, so it is okay to take a cheap shot as long as the refs don't see it? Interesting philosophy. Of course the hit on Henderson was planned, he was receiving a punt! The hit on Henderson deserved the penalty, but it was not for leading with the helmet, it was for interference. The guy timed the hit wrong. Do I think he wanted to hit him as hard as possible, yes? Do I think that he meant to give him a concussion? No. If you have EVIDENCE to the contrary, then let's see it. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Mimbs had a moment to think about his lame retaliation. The punter is wearing pads; they always wanted to be accepted as football players, then let them get hit. He was in a vulnerable position, he just thought he would not get hit. Was he really hit that hard? Just because a guy falls down does not mean it was that hard of a hit.

4) As for the conversation about the 4th and goal going for it, I thought they talked about that so much only because there was nothing else to talk about. It went on for way too long and the argument that Davis made about how pollsters will look back is a little silly in that if UGA scores I am not sure 48-10 is any more impressive than 41-10. When it comes time to vote most voters will remember UGA blowing out Hawaii which is all that really matters. I thought it was a potentially better thing to do that just kick the FG. However, if I were calling the plays, I would have run Lumpkin 4 straight times to get a TD. I like that USC gave the ball the Herschel Dennis to score in his final game. That is a great and classy touch. (Sorry, I forgot "class" is something you equate with losers).

5) I wonder if Hawaii had beaten UGA if the Hawaii fans chanting "overrated" would be so acceptable in these quarters? (I really hate that cheer since the players have no say about how high they are ranked. Maybe going to the houses of the voters and chanting that would be more appropriate).

6)Dawg19, you need to bring charges against the people who were forcing you to watch the Rose Bowl against your will. I am no attorney, but I think that holding someone against his will is a crime in every state. The TV has an off switch or you can leave the room. Don't give me this "forced" you to watch the game crap.

7) Does anyone have a list of people who actually picked Hawaii to win? I will even take a list of those in the "I would not be surprised" category although I would not consider that a prediction of victory. (Heck I bet we all have said that from time to time without meaning it to be an endorsement). Some beat writer or blogger for Hawaii did not even think UH would win. The only person I can remember picking UH was Mark May.

8) As far as Colt Brennan and the NFL, I am not sure what this does to his status. A great game would have helped, no doubt, but I am not sure a bad game like this kills him. I watched the game and saw a QB whose offensive line was porous and whose coach never made an adjustment to help him. In most offenses you can bring in a tight end or extra blocker, but that does not seem to be possible with the June Jones offense. I have no idea if it is because they do not have those personnel or what. I would have brought in an extra tackle to try to help out even it means losing a receiver. It is not like having 4 receivers out on a pattern does much good if the QB has no time to find them.

I did see Brennan throwing 3/4 or side arm on several occasions and that seems to be something pro scouts do not like.

Shoot, can anyone figure out even remotely well who is going to make it as an NFL QB on a consistent basis? If so, you can probably make more money being a NFL GM than you can in whatever job you have now.

Thanks for mentioning that Hawaii brought their truly class act fan base to NOLA. From all reports, they represented themselves very well and everyone I've spoken to in New Orleans absolutely adored them. Every one I ran into was a fine sport, even as the third quarter was coming to a close. Those fans were quite loud in the Dome and did a spectacular job representing their school.

The Dawgs in attendance were also representing themsevles very well, but bringing 50K to a bowl game does that for ya.

Funniest parts of the game were introducing President Adams, who was quietly booed, and Mayor Ray Nagin who was quite loudly booed.

"Dante, so it is okay to take a cheap shot as long as the refs don't see it? Interesting philosophy. Of course the hit on Henderson was planned, he was receiving a punt! The hit on Henderson deserved the penalty, but it was not for leading with the helmet, it was for interference. The guy timed the hit wrong. Do I think he wanted to hit him as hard as possible, yes? Do I think that he meant to give him a concussion?"

I don't think it's okay to take a cheap shot but if you're going to, at least have the good sense to do it while you're not being closely watched (see Warren Sapp's career for plenty of examples of good times to take cheap shots). Personally, I think ejection should happen a lot more often on the more severe personal fouls but I'll find it in my heart to forgive the cheap shots that UGA players take on other teams even if I don't agree with them.

I personally don't think it matters whether or not the Hawaii player intended to give Henderson a concussion. The Hawaii player intended to put a hit on a player who was protected by the rules of football from being hit in that situation. Being hit when you're expecting it is a whole different ball game from being hit when not expecting it.

"I guess I am just getting old and think that a program can win, graduate players and not having more making the police blotter than the all conference team."

You can have a bad guy image without getting arrested over it. Just keep your attitude on the field and don't recruit the scum of the earth that Florida State seems to dredge up (which we currently don't).

The way I see it, there are far too many teams trying to be white hats in college football. In the current college football climate, USC is already playing the part of Ransom Stoddard. The position is full. We're not getting it. But we could make one heck of a Liberty Valance.

Per your request, as someone who loves watching football AND FOOTBALL ONLY on New Year's Day, I am bringing charges against The Rose Bowl officials et al who wouldn't break tradition and take UGA over Illinois.

Of course I wasn't "forced" to watch that game. In fact, I turned over to "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" a few times during the game because watching USC pound the Illini is as fun as dental surgery.

Calm down...I was just stating that as a football fan, it's frustrating to have two good games on (with two good SEC teams) at the same time and then when they end, another one comes on that everyone KNOWS is going to suck. And if you love watching football, that's your only choice.

They did it on purpose to please The Rose Bowl, The Big Ten, The Pac-Ten, the BCS, and ABC, plain and simple.

To be fair, though...if I wasn't a Georgia fan, I never would have watched our game for very long, either.